Unselfish and Determined, Syracuse Looks to Meet Expectations

Denver head coach Bill Tierney said after the Pioneers' 9-8 loss to Syracuse — coming on the heels of wild rally — that it can be helpful for a program to not have a history of success, which can put pressure on a student-athlete.

"I think one of the nice things about being a new program is that you don't have a history to live up to," the legendary coach said after his team was knocked out of the NCAA Final Four. "You have a history that can continually get better."

For Syracuse coaches and players, living up to the storied history of the Orange program is clearly a driving factor that's helped get this team to where it is today: just one more win away from bringing a record 12th (or 11th, depending on how you want to view it) national championship back to Central New York. The will take on the Duke Blue Devils on Monday in the NCAA final, an achievement and/or opportunity that might have seemed out reach for a team ranked 14th in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook to start the season.

Even a few weeks ago, fans — especially those in lacrosse hotbeds like Syracuse and Baltimore — were quick to point out that, if knocked out of the tournament, the 2013 Syracuse senior class was on the verge of being one of the first in the program's illustrious history to miss the Final Four.

Now, after yet another unthinkable one-goal win — in the team's 10th one-goal game this season — JoJo Marasco, Brian Megill, Steve Ianzito and the rest of the just-graduated seniors have the opportunity to do what a senior class at Syracuse hasn't done since 2009 — play in the final game of the college season, an opportunity to create memories that should last a lifetime.

"I went to Syracuse because they played in the Final Four so many times, and we have 11 National Championships," said JoJo Marasco, who finished the game with two goals and three assists, including a goal and two assists in the crucial fourth quarter.

"That's why you go to play there, unbelievable coaches and great team spirit and when you step on that field every time you're playing for the fans, Syracuse community, your families, everyone. It's just expected, and I think that's why we've been here so many times, because we play so hard, and the talent is just … it rises every time in close games, especially when it comes down to the last four teams in the Final Four."

While Syracuse doesn't have a star player at the level of a Casey Powell or a Gary Gait, even Tierney pointed out that they have "just a bunch of great hardworking young men that know they're going to be in tight games and have found a way to win most of them."

Syracuse head coach John Desko, who knows Tierney on a personal level, agreed with his old adversary.

Epitomizing that popular mantra (search #HHH on Twitter), Desko said, is senior captain and SSDM Steve Ianzito, who nursed an ankle injury all week and saw little time in practice leading up to the Denver matchup.

Even the most dedicated lacrosse fans would have been hard-pressed Saturday to see any deficiencies in Ianzito's play. Ianzito forced a key turnover late in the fourth quarter that helped give the Orange possession and the chance to win the game, which came on Derek Maltz's snag-and-shot off a rebound from Luke Commeti's bounce shot with only 20 seconds left on the clock.

"A lot of times someone, after not practicing all week, they get out there in the game and they've got to work the rust out, and they lost some conditioning, too," said Desko, who has led the Orange to five national titles since the turn of the century."

"So for (Ianzito) at the end of the game to still have enough juice left to make a big play like that is a lot of heart. We go by head, heart and hustle, and he had a lot of it today."

The 2013 Syracuse senior class might not have the names or flash that some of the others before it have had — though many in lacrosse should be viewing Marasco as not only a first-team All-American, but also as having been snubbed for the McLaughlin Award — this group has helped turn this team into one of the most unselfish, the most exciting to watch and, most importantly, the most successful Orange team since the '09 crew pulled off the unthinkable — a feat the current Syracuse team has made a routine.

For all their accomplishments, the Orange seniors continue to defer credit to the team's overall effort, even Marasco, who will cap his career with one of the best seasons any Syracuse midfielder has ever had, with 63 points and the single season record for assists from the midfield (41).

"These guys, when it's time to step up, they do," Marasco said. "I think just our patience on offense has been so key this year and in these last two games we just had to really relax out there. … It's just all-around, just kind of staying relaxed and knowing that we trust everyone on the field and we just have a lot of faith and we believe in ourselves, and I think that's why we've been able to come out on top in so many close games. … I really try to be as unselfish as I can and these guys are great shooters and I really trust them, and it's been working out all year, and hopefully it can for one more game."